Exceptions
by theAdorabloodthirsty
Summary: A humanstuck au where all of the trolls and kids are there and they do things that teenagers do. The alpha and beta kids are all the same age. Please don't be offended by their relations. The point of view changes, but it's Nepeta, Dave, and Tavros for the most part, as well as a few others. T rating may be a bit pushy sometimes. Feel free to review.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, Equius! Just wear it for today!" Nepeta shoved the stuffed horse beanie in his face, a smile playing on her lips.

"If I may inquire as to why I must dress as a horse in public, Nepeta?"

He put a hand in front of his face to keep the hat away from him. Nepeta sighed good naturedly, drawing the googly eyed brown hat back towards her and dropping it on Equius's dresser.

"It's a cosplay, Equius! You have to cosplay, it's an essential element to these kinds of events!"

_ He'll never understand_, she thought to herself._ But that's OK, as long as he comes with me._

Today was a big day for Nepeta Leijon. Today she was going to attend her first ever comic convention with her best friend in the entire world, Equius Zahhok. Not only that, but they were going to meet their online cosplay buddy at the convention, and she wanted to make a good impression.

"Nepeta, this is a horse costume. I don't think it qualifies as a cosplay. It isn't a character or anything, it's just a horse."

Nepeta looked up at him sweetly, giving him an innocent smile.

"But Equius, we always cosplay as our own characters online and you know that! Your horse isn't just an ordinary horse, and it doesn't matter what the public thinks so long as you know who you're dressed as. Plus I'm dressed up in similar attire!"

Nepeta was in fact dressed in her blue cat beanie, a blue cat tail, shoes to match, and her signature green trench coat.

"Besides, everyone at the place is going to be dressed in funky costumes. If you don't wear it you'll be that grouchy, boring guy who doesn't get involved with anything." Equius gave a resigned sigh. Nepeta knew that she had won the argument. She stood up on her tip toes and with a little hop, slipped the beanie on his head.

"We should get going now, we don't want to keep our friend waiting!"

She dashed our the door, Equius following behind more slowly. The convention was within walking distance of Equius's house. He hadn't been nearly as thrilled as she was about the comic-con, but with a lot of persuasion and a bit of kissing up, Nepeta had convinced him to come. Besides, it was only a few blocks away, and it would be stupid to pass up such a golden opportunity to meet new friends. As she skidded through the door, Nepeta made a mental note to do something extra nice for Equius later. He was the best friend ever, and Nepeta knew he would do anything for her. They fell into step and didn't really talk for most of the way there, but Nepeta made sure to give him plenty of friendly nudges and contented smiles to show her appreciation for what he was doing for her. A smile sprouted up behind his cracked shades, and although she couldn't see his eyes, Nepeta knew that his eyes would be sparkling like the beautiful blue gems that they were. His appearance made him look scary and tough, what with his bulging muscles and broken shades, topped off by an excessive amount of heavy sweating, but once one got to know him, he was a real sweety-pie. Nepeta would never let anything happen to him.

As they neared the entrance, Nepeta quickened her pace. The line was pretty long, and Equius let out a groan of impatience, but Nepeta was excited by the thought of being around so many people. She started to bounce around like a hyper puppy in her barely contained excitement, and nearly smashed into the person in front of her when the line moved. When they were finally admitted, Nepeta immediately searched for the place they had agreed to meet their cosplay friend. Their agreement was to meet where the Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff autograph signings were, since it was the only comic that any of them had actually heard about, or read for that matter. As they progressed through the crowd, Nepeta could tell that Equius was feeling more than a little uncomfortable. He was beginning to sweat, and his face revealed a mixture of nervousness and claustrophobia. He was very anti-social, Nepeta being his only real friend. With a pang of sympathy, she took his hand for support, and he didn't resist. They were almost at the meeting area when they were approached by a girl who could only be their cosplay friend. She was dressed in a red dragon hood and red glasses, and bore a matching dragon cane to signify her blindness. Nepeta knew what she looked like from their frequent video chats, but she was even prettier in person.

"Hey, look who finally decided to show up!"

Their friend grinned to reveal a set of glistening white teeth. Nepeta cringed with shame.

"Sorry we were late, Terezi. Equius was a bit reluctant to wear his adorable cosplay pony hat."

Terezi laughed gleefully.

"Actually, I just got here myself. I'm just messin' with ya!"

Nepeta let out a purr of amusement and relief and adjusted her blue cat beanie.

"I'm just curious, but how did you know it was us? I mean, you being blind and all..."

Terezi gave her a mysterious knowing look.

"I smelled you coming."

Nepeta was about to ask how she knew what they smelled like when she heard a little cough behind her.

"If I may intrude on your seemingly aimless babble about who was late,"

Equius bowed his head apologetically, clearly realizing that what he said was rude.

"I apologize, but what do you hope to accomplish in a place like this? Do either of you even read comics?"

Nepeta hadn't thought of this before. She had pretty much just assumed that they would meet Terezi, maybe cosplay in real life. Now, looking around her, it seemed apparent that doing something like this in the middle of a public event would be a bit weird, even when most of the crowd around them was dressed in their own costumes. She was thankful when Terezi offered an idea.

"Maybe we could still check out Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff's area. The authors will be there, and it seems like the only intelligent thing to do, being that none of us have heard of any of the other comics here."

So, with a mutual shrug, the three of them once again headed for their original meeting place. When they approached, Nepeta's senses were immediately infiltrated with the choking stench of weed. Nepeta's scent glands were quite strong compared to the average person's, and her throat burned with the intake of these unwelcome fumes. She let out a cough and, breathing through her mouth, turned her head to investigate the source of the foul stink. She immediately discovered that it was coming from a group of boys about their age who appeared to have a bone to pick with what seemed to be the authors of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. None of them were cosplaying, but the smoker sure looked goofy. His hair was wild, like it hadn't been brushed in years. He was dressed in a hoodie and spotted pants, and though she had a side view of his face, it appeared as though he was wearing... clown makeup... A smaller boy next to him was yelling at the two authors, and the third boy in the party just stood there coolly, nodding every once in awhile and looking pretty awesome. Suddenly curious, Nepeta scampered closer to them to see what the commotion was about, despite Equius's grunt of disapproval.

"...Seriously, the plots you have for your bullshit comic is fucking stupid, and the art looks like it was drawn by a class of drunk 1st graders! Who the fuck taught you shits to draw?"

The authors looked exasperated.

"Look man, if you don't like our web comic then go and find some other tool to go hate on and leave us the fuck alone."

The two looked similar; they were probably brothers. They were both blonde and with dark shades. The one who had spoken was paler with lighter hair, and wore a red and white shirt with a cracked record on it. The second brother, with slick back hair and pointy shades, spoke next.

"Our comic strips are the most badass and and ironic pieces of art you'll ever find on the internet. Don't hate on the things that are cooler than you are."

The small angry boy looked even more flustered than before.

"Ironic, my ass! I bet you wouldn't know irony if it fucking punched you in the balls! You and your-"

The third kid in the party cut him off.

"KK that'th enough harrathing thethe innothent people for one day, don't ya think? Bethides, it'th thtupid to thneak into an event for free jutht to get thrown out by thecurity."

Angry boy scowled, turning around and allowing for Nepeta to get a better look at him. His face was flushed and his eyes blazed with anger. He had a funny little nose and slightly greasy, sort of windblown hair. He was kind of cute, actually.

"Whatever, Sollux. This place blows anyway. We could have picked a much less lame place to spend our day, but you just _had_ to come to the fucking nerd convention."

He stormed away, leaving Sollux to apologize to the blonde boys himself.

"Thorry about him, he tendth to hate on everything."

He turned to follow angry boy, giving Nepeta a clearer view of him as well. He was tall and thin, with jet black hair that was stunning in contrast with his pale skin. He wore red and blue 3-D glass type shades and two different colored shoes. _What a strange group of kids,_ Nepeta thought to herself as she watched them navigate their way through the crowd. She turned her head back towards the clown guy, who seemed to just have noticed that his friends had gone. He blew one last puff of rancid smoke, murmured "damn straight" and calmly tailed his two companions. Once he too was out of sight, Nepeta decided that she would check up on the blonde boys that had just been harassed by angry boy. As she approached, she could tell that they were mildly flustered, but they didn't seem to be too shaken up. _Still_, she thought,_ it might be nice to see if they're OK. _

_"_Hello! Was that kid being mean to you?"

She looked up at them sympathetically. The red shirted one let out a puff of air.

"Just really annoying for the most part. But whatever. Fucking haters gotta fucking hate."

Nepeta jumped as a voice sounded behind her.

"Your language is utterly appalling! Nepeta, you shouldn't be associating with those who speak with such astounding vulgarity."

_Oh, my Equius_, Nepeta thought with a smirk. Of course he would be opinionated against these people.

"It's OK, Equius, they're nice people!"

She turned to face them again.

"I'm Nepeta, by the way! Nice to meet you!"

The one with the pointy shades nodded coolly, adjusting his shades.

"I'm Dirk, and this is Dave. We make the Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff comics on the web."

Nepeta held a respectful stare, calmly glancing between the two of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Hopefully we can be good friends!"

She was interrupted by an abrupt tug on her arm.

"That's enough. Come on, Nepeta, let's go check out some other place."

He continued to pull her away. She knew that he just wanted to get her far from Dirk and Dave, thinking that they were a bad influence on her, and he was just being protective of her. She didn't resist being forced away, but managed to yell a final "bye" over her shoulder. When they were out of earshot, Terezi spoke quietly to Nepeta so that only she could hear.

"That argument back there sure was tasty. What do you make of that shouty kid?"

Nepeta was taken aback by the sudden question. She stumbled over her words in an attempt to find a proper answer.

"Uh... I dunno... He seemed... angry...?"

She winced at the lameness of her reply and could feel her cheeks growing hot. For a moment she was glad that Terezi couldn't see her. Terezi grinned.

"I thought all that anger was adorable, like the temper tantrum a child would have. And that smart ass response from Dave, was it? That was adorable too. Too bad I couldn't have seen them myself."

Nepeta smile with amusement. It was nice to know that Terezi could be so light-hearted talking about her own blindness.

For nearly an hour the three walked and talked, catching up on everything that had been going on in school, cosplaying a little with just their voices, and drinking beverages that none of them had ever heard of. Then when rounding a bend, they came face to face with none other than the group of strangely dressed boys who had harassed Dave and Dirk. Nepeta felt she had to say something to them.

"Hey, you're those guys from Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff's area."

She knew that Equius wouldn't approve of her talking to such people as these, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Yeah, and what the fuck is it to you?"

The angry kid spat. Nepeta could see Equius's fists clench, but wasn't fazed the kid's spite herself. She put a hand on Equius's shoulder to calm him.

"Well, we saw your... uh... disagreement... and were just a bit curious, I guess."

Nepeta had absolutely no idea what compelled her to speak to this group of boys, but she felt the strange desire to befriend them, to get to know them. Something about them screamed for her attention.

"Curious about what?"

She cringed at the fierce irritation illuminating his eyes.

"I... uh..."

She was saved by Sollux, the red and blue glasses guy.

"Lay off, Karkat, She obviouthly doethn't mean any harm by talking to uth."

He turned to face her.

"Don't mind KK, he'th jutht an irritated bitch at the betht of timeth."

He shot Karkat a warning look, and extended his hand.

"I'm Thollux, the thtupid bathtard ith Karkat, and the thmelly ath wipe ith Gamthee. I'm thorry for any trouble we've cauthed you."

Nepeta shook his hand, attempting not to giggle at his lispy way of speaking. She knew it was wrong to judge people and laugh at things that were a potential insecurity, but but voice was just so funny.

"It's nice to meet you all! I'm Nepeta, and this is Equius and Terezi!"

She could tell that she was really testing Equius's patience once again, but she felt an intense draw to these people that she couldn't understand, almost like she was meant to talk to them, to get to know them. Karkat was glaring at her with such scorn that it made her feel sad. Without thinking, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. She felt his body tense with shock, and felt a wave of satisfaction flow through her. He smelled of cheap cologne and laundry that had been deprived of a good wash for just a little while too long, but Nepeta didn't care. She kept hugging him until she was sure that she had made an impression, if even just a small one. When she stepped back she could see that it had worked. Or at least done something. All signs of bitterness had vanished, replaced by a stunned shock. His eyes were wide, darting back in forth in his confusion.

"What... What the fuck was...?"

His friends snickered as he fumbled for the correct words. Nepeta shrugged.

"You seemed like you were in need of a good hug, so I delivered."

It was as simple as that, really. Terezi, realizing what had just happened, joined in with Karkat's friends as they laughed. For the first time in a while, Gamzee spoke his mind.

"I'd say that this is the work of motherfucking miracles, bro. Random strangers giving out hugs, that is like a personal invitation to join the miracle parade. How is this not magnificently delightful? I suggest that we all take a moment to relish the wonders of the motherfucking miracle."

His heavily made up lips spread into a wide and doubly creepy smile. _Wow. He certainly is high_, Nepeta thought. Oh well. She smiled at him kindly._ He seems nice enough, so who cares if he's sober or not?_ Equius, his patience finally up, broke in.

"Nepeta, we should probably hit the road soon. Terezi, are you going to accompany us?"

Terezi nodded, and Nepeta was pulled away once again. She looked behind her shoulder, gave one last friendly smile and wave, and followed Equius, Terezi walking beside her. As they made their way down the sidewalk back to Equius's house, Nepeta's thoughts were a mess. All that went through her mind were thoughts of irritated, raging Karkat.


	2. Chapter 2

Dave stood, baffled and bemused, next to his bro, Dirk. They had just been pathetically antagonized by an angry short kid, reassured by a blue and green cat girl, and disapproved by a muscular pony boy. If that wasn't enough to make a guy gape and stare at nothing in particular, nothing was. However, he made sure to do so in an ironic, badass kind of way. For awhile, both of the Strider bros just stood there, faces blank in their mutual befuddlement. Their surprise was hidden behind their dark shades, unnoticed by unaffected passerby. Their brief stunned silence was interrupted by some bouncy kids requesting autographs. They exchanged a glance, shook it off, and carried on with the con casualties. Dave decided that he would ignore what had just happened. Dwelling on things wasn't in the least bit ironic, and he was sure that Dirk felt the same way. For awhile they just carried on signing autographs and giving handshakes, taking pictures with a few people. Dave was enjoying himself. He felt like a big-shot. Well, more than he usually did at least. This continued normally until two familiar faces appeared in the crowd, headed steadily towards them. He felt his lips curl upwards to reveal his shining white teeth.

"Dave! Dirk! How are you guys?"

Approaching were their two cousins, Rose and Roxy. Roxy was hobbling about clumsily, clutching Rose's shoulder dependently._ She must be drunk again, _Dave thought. Roxy struggled with alcohol abuse, and nobody seemed to want to help her except her loving sister, Rose.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

Rose and Roxy stopped in front of them, Rose steadying Roxy as she stumbled over her own feet.

"We just came to see how you were doing. It's awesome that a con finally accepted you guys as formal authors of an official web-comic!"

Dave nodded, arms folded.

"Well, with enough fans and a good petition, they'll let any 16 year old run a booth."

Rose was smiling triumphantly, pride lighting up her pretty face.

"Well, it's great!"

Roxy decided that now was a good time to interrupt and change the subject completely.

"You still -hic- haven't given 'ole Roxy a hug, have you Dirk?"

She hobbled over to where where he was standing and tripped right into him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and proceeded to stroke his arm.

"You been working out those -hic- muscles, haven't you?"

Her words were slurred and unfocused, and she had a faraway look in her eye, as though she was seeing a completely different world than everyone else was.

"You better be careful Dirk. You wouldn't wanna be giving 'ole Roxy a lady boner or things might get ugly. Your abs jus' as nice as your lovely biceps?"

She began stroking Dirk's stomach, and he was beginning to look a little bit uncomfortable. Looking over at Rose, Dave saw that she was red with embarrassment, shameful of her sister's behavior. In fact, she looked like she was about to smack her forehead.

"Roxy, for the hundredth time, Dirk is your cousin..."

Roxy ignored her sister, running a hand through Dirk's blonde hair.

"That's a good Dirky-poo."

She planted a kiss on his cheek and slowly progressed back to Rose. Now Rose really did facepalm, the flush in her cheeks deepening considerably.

"I'm sorry about her... again... I"m trying to get her to stop drinking so much, but there's only so much I can do for her. I can't just make her stop, and I would hate to put her through withdrawal."

She looked down in misery, tears welling up in her clear magenta eyes. She took Roxy's hand and squeezed it affectionately. A pang of sympathy rushed through Dave. He tried to imagine what it would be like if Dirk had an addiction such as this. It wouldn't be ironic, that was for sure. He scooted over to Rose and put a hand on her shoulder, patting her comfortingly. She looked up at him, gratitude showing in her eyes. He smiled at her sympathetically, but was forced to move back to where Dirk was standing upon the approach of two new people. The new strangers were kind of odd looking, and Dave hoped that they weren't like the little powerhouse of anger that had tormented them earlier. One was a short boy with tan skin and a dark mohawk. He was dressed in black pants, a collared jacket, and socks with sandals. His look was finalized with a headband that seemed to be bull horns. _What is with all the animal head-wear at this place? _Dave thought to himself. His companion was a taller girl who wore jeans and a blue jacket along with a pair of large glasses with the lenses poked out. She had long hair and a smirk that didn't seem to change very often. Rose and Roxy backed to the side to let the newcomers through. The girl shoved the mohawk boy forward, and he whimpered as the table made hard contact with his ribs. He stood up, rubbing his side, pain clouding his gaze.

"I, uh, read some of your comics... Uh, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, and, uh, well, I, uh..."

He trailed off, looking at his feet. His companion let out an impatient groan.

"Spit it out Tavros!"

He let out a high pitched squeak as she gave him another shove, and continued quickly.

"I, uh, just wanted to, uh, meet you and uh... maybe get your autographs?"

He looked to the girl fearfully, tensed like a puppy awaiting a kick from an abusive owner. Dave frowned, concerned.

"You shouldn't let her beat you around like that, man."

He snapped his fingers for Dirk to get a piece of paper, which he signed and handed to Dave. As he signed the paper, Dave continued.

"And you shouldn't be hurting him like that. What did the little dude ever do to you?"

He handed the paper to the Tavros kid and looked at the girl coolly.

"I, uh, don't mind it so much..." Tavros piped up in her defense.

Dirk stretched his arms, clearly nominating himself to be the next person to speak.

"You should mind. Shit man, nobody should have to put up with this kind of treatment. It's fucked up."

By now the girl looked really pissed off.

"Come on, Tavros. You got your autographs, now let's go."

Her voice was full of venom as she yanked his arm harshly, and Tavros let out another cry of pain. When they had gone, Rose and Roxy stepped back towards them again. Rose wore an expression full of anger.

"What a pathetic asshole, treating the poor boy that way. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. It's no wonder he seemed so nervous."

Dave knew that she was extremely sensitive to other peoples' psychological states and problems and knew just about everything there was to know on the topic.

"It's alright Rose, maybe you can talk to him sometime."

Anything she may have said next was interrupted by the sudden arrival of yet another stranger. She looked flustered and rushed, her breaths short and heavy.

"Have you seen a boy with a mohawk and a girl with big glasses?"

Dirk pointed in the direction that the two had gone in, and she hurried off, gasping a quick thanks over her shoulder. Dave couldn't help but notice how gothic the girl looked with her short black hair and black lipstick that went surprisingly well with her highly fashionable outfit. Rose stared after her, probably thinking something similar. She adjusted her hair and looked back at him.

"Hopefully that girl is nice to him. I doubt he could take harassment from two people. Even somebody with lots of confidence would find that task to be difficult."

She looked back in the direction they went, fixing her hair again. Dirk let a little cough.

"I'm sure he'll be OK. That girl seemed nice enough, and pretty concerned about not being able to find them. Maybe it was out of the fear of leaving them alone together."

Rose took a deep breath.

"You're probably right. Maybe I'll talk to them."

She seemed eager to go and do just that. In fact, she was uncharacteristically bouncy with anticipation. _She must really love helping insecure people I guess_, Dave thought. _Oh well, she can do what she wants, and it's not like that's a bad hobby._ He was snapped out of his thoughts by another familiar voice.

"Hey Dave! Hey Dirk! We came to see you guys at the con!"

It was his best bro, John, accompanied by two others whom Dave wasn't acquainted with.

"Hey man. Who are your friends?"

He nodded towards the boy and girl that John was standing with. John looked startled, as though he had forgotten that he hadn't come alone._ Typical John,_ thought Dave with a sneer. What an airhead. Face flushed with embarrassment, John turned towards the girl.

"This is my cousin Jade, and this is her cousin, Jake. He's not my cousin though."

John grinned. What a dork. It was almost comical what John found amusing. Looking at Jake, Dave could immediately tell that something was up with the guy. He wore a tank-top and a belt that was loaded with incredibly fake looking artillery that obviously couldn't be loaded into the dual be-be hand guns that he clutched in each hand. The most interesting part of this incredibly abnormal cosplay was without a doubt the lower half. He appeared to be wearing... booty shorts.

"What the fuck are you wearing?"

He nodded at Jake in disgust. Jake looked up through his glasses at him with a stupid grin that was weirdly like John's. He wondered how the hell they weren't related.

"I'm Lara Croft!"

Dave decided not to ask. He frowned, shaking his head. Could this day get any weirder? Dirk seemed to be sizing Jake up as well. If even Dirk was curious about this kid's outfit then it must really be weird. Dirk was pretty laid back and didn't really judge people very often. Dave shook his head again, shifting his attention back to the girl. She was pretty normal looking, excluding the white dog ears she wore on her head. Actually, she was pretty cute, and the dog ears made her even cuter. His thoughts were once again interrupted by Rose, who was impatiently shuffling her feet like a five year old who really needed to pee.

"If I may intrude, we're going to go now."

Without waiting for an answer, she grasped Roxy's hand and practically yanked her away. Roxy let out a yelp of surprise and attempted to say goodbye before leaving, instead managing only to let out a noise that sounded something like "gubbuh." Dave raised an eyebrow at the quick departure, but her was getting used to odd behavior by this point, and dismissed it without questioning. With a jolt he realized he had forgotten to introduce himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Dave and this is-"

"Dirk. I'm Dirk."

Dirk's hand shot out and he gave each of them a firm and unnecessarily long handshake. Dave sighed._ Jesus Christ, what the fuck is _up_ with everyone today?_ He thought._ Am I the only sane person left on this planet? _When Dirk was finished with his rather weird introduction, Dave decided that he might as well shake their hands as well, though his was less tense and much shorter. He was rewarded by a quiet "Nice to meet you" from Jade and a smile that sent a chill down his spine. There was an awkward silence after that and Dave was grateful when John decided to be the one to break it. They talked for a good half hour before the three had to take off. Dave noticed that Dirk stalled the goodbye, cracking lots of ironic jokes and making sure that each of them left with autographs, which Dave thought was really lame since John was a really good friend of theirs and Jade was his cousin. Jake's relation wasn't direct, but since he was a relative of a relative, that had to count for something. Eventually they managed to sneak away from Dirk, who became very quiet, seemingly lost in thought. Dave frowned beneath his shades.

"Dude, what the fuck?"

Dirk turned to face him, eyebrows raised in apparent surprise.

"Sup, Bro?"

Dave's fist clenched with agitation.

"Don't play dumb, man. You were acting all weird. What the fuck?"

Dirk ran a hand through his hair casually.

"I dunno what you're talkin' about."

Dave sighed in resignation. It didn't matter. If his bro didn't want to talk about something then he wouldn't force him to, though he was mildly offended that he didn't feel Dave worthy of knowing his innermost thoughts as he usually did. He decided instead to change the subject.

"Whatever. So have you seen any hot chicks today?"

Dirk stared ahead blankly.

"Eh."

Dave shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess this isn't the ideal gathering place for pretty women."

Dirk put his hands in his pockets.

"Guess not."

Dave decided to shut up. He looked away. Dirk never seemed to want to talk about girls. It was weird. There was no need for him to be insecure about it in Dave's opinion. Dirk was a good looking guy; he would be able to get a good looking girl pretty easily. Plus, talking about girls was supposed to be a really good bro bonding activity. Ah well. Epic rap battles and intense sword fights worked well enough. Looking back at Dirk, Dave could see that he was thinking hard about something or other. Dave decided to leave him to his thoughts, and have thoughts of his own. It had been a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

Tavros's shoulder screamed in protest as his arm was wrenched backwards. He let out a yelp.

"Don't be such a wimp, Tavros, it's just a bit of a stretch."

Vriska was grinning ear to ear, cackling as he whimpered in pain.

"Cut it out, Vriska. Can you not see the anguish that your constant antagonism causes him?"

The voice belonged to Kanaya. Tavros heaved a sigh of relief as he felt Vriska's grip on his arm loosen.

"Come on, Kanaya, I was barely touching him. Besides, he'll never be a man if he can't take a little pain every once in a while."

Tavros drooped his shoulders. Vriska may be his friend, but she sure hurt him a lot more than he cared to admit; both physically and emotionally. He couldn't do a thing about it though, being who he was. If he were to stand up to her then he risked feeling her wrath, or worse. She might just bail on him completely and decide to stop being his friend. He could never let that happen. Besides, she was pissed enough at him for even making her come to this place.

Tavros Nitram was at a comic convention with his two friends, Vriska Serket and Kanaya Maryam. He did not particularly enjoy most comics, and was certainly not a fan, but recently he had taken an interest in one of them. Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff was the one web comic, or any comic, that Tavros read. They were witty and ironic, giving him a small boost of self esteem when he read them. Plus, he had heard that the authors of the comic were super cool and confident, always knowing what to say in a tough situation. Pretty much just the chance that this rumor was correct justified Tavros's worship of them. They were figures of supreme status in his mind and reserved the right to be looked up to, especially being that they were no older than he was. Tavros had a tendency to seek out the more confident and relaxed people to exemplify correct behavioral patterns to him. His main role model had to be his Uncle Rufioh, the most confident man that Tavros knew. Then again, he didn't really associate with a wide variety of people. He had come to the con to meet a few more, and hopefully they would be everything he had come to believe that they were. He just hoped that he could work up the courage to talk to them. Just coming to this convention had taken a lot of willpower; Vriska had kicked him into a chair. So she had anger management issues. It was OK by Tavros if she took it out on him, as long as he could stay on her good side. Something about her just made him want to stick around. Kanaya seemed to be the same way. Or maybe she just wanted to keep Vriska from seriously injuring him. Either way, Tavros really appreciated Kanaya's dedication to keeping Vriska in check, and he hoped that she would stick around for a long time to come. He was really quite content with his friends group. A sudden punch in the stomach jolted Tavros out of his thoughts. He recoiled with a groan.

"I_ said, _Mr. Space Cadet, where are your stupid idle bitches so we can get the fuck out of here?"

Tavros winced, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath. She didn't have to say it like that.

"I, uh, think they're that way..."

He raised the hand that was not nursing his stomach, and pointed to the right. Vriska had started to walk already when Kanaya cleared her throat to get their attention.

"You two go on and find them, I must locate a lavatory. I will catch up to you. Vriska, I must ask for you to keep your hands to yourself."

She headed off in the opposite direction, looking over her shoulder to make sure Vriska complied with her demands. Vriska rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Tavros."

She grabbed his arm, wrenching it painfully again, pulling him in the direction that he had pointed in earlier. Tavros wasn't surprised that she disobeyed Kanaya's request so quickly, but he didn't mind being yanked around so much. Actually, it was kind of nice feeling her hand around his wrist, and he was close enough to her that the sweet scent of her hair wafted up his nostrils. For a moment he allowed himself to get lost in their temporary closeness. It was short lived, however, as she let go of his arm and shoved him into the Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff table. He whimpered as pain shot through his rib cage. He collected himself, standing up to the extent of his height, grimacing and rubbing the newly throbbing area of his side. Quickly he tried to find the right words to say to them. How could he possibly express his gratitude for this pair of exceptional teenage badasses?

"I, uh, read some of your comics... uh, Hella Jeff and Sweet Bro and, uh, well, I, uh..."

He hung his head, shameful of his expression-lacking word fumble. Vriska groaned impatiently.

"Spit it out, Tavros!"

She shoved him again, and he let out an embarrassingly high pitched squeak as he almost smashed his face into the table. He felt his face grow hot with self consciousness and embarrassment.

"I, uh, just wanted to meet you and, uh... maybe get you autographs?"

He glanced at Vriska fearfully, hoping she wouldn't discipline him for being too forward. He snapped his head back to the the two as one of them spoke; Dave, he thought.

"You shouldn't let her beat you around like that, man."

He snapped his fingers at his brother, Dirk, who promptly signed a piece of paper and handed it to Dave. He continued to speak, adding his own signature and raising his head to look at Vriska.

"And you shouldn't be hurting him like that. What did the little dude do to you?"

Tavros's eyes widened in awe. He took the paper as it was handed to him, though the movement hardly felt like his own in his awe-stricken numbness. Vriska would probably be so pissed off at him for making her come here just to get told off like this. He figured he should say a few words in her defense, to be a supportive friend.

"I, uh, don't mind it so much..."

He couldn't really think of much else to say. He could hardly argue that she was doing this by accident, and he was still dazed from being supported by the two people in his age group that he revered the most. Dirk was next to respond.

"You should mind. Shit man, nobody should have to put up with this kind of treatment. It's fucked up."

Tavros's head went all fuzzy, and he almost grasped the table in his sudden dizziness. They had both supported him. He stole a glance at Vriska nervously. Her cheeks were flushed in anger. _Uh, oh,_ Tavros thought. _If she blows a fuse then I'm in trouble... _

"Come on, Tavros," she hissed, "you got your autographs, now let's go."

She yanked his arm once again, her painfully tight grip trembling with rage. He cried out, not so much out of pain, but mostly in fear of what she would do in her anger. As she tugged him in a random direction, he felt none of the pleasure that he had experienced before. Vriska's eyes were two balls of pure fire, and her grip was cutting off his blood circulation. He didn't know how much more pain he could take in one day. He could already feel the bruises forming on the various areas of his body where he had been thrown around, yanked, and clubbed. Eventually she stopped walking, and Tavros tensed, bracing for a hit. She drew her hand back as though to strike him, and he closed his eyes, shielding his face with his arms. She let out a noise that was somewhere in-between a scream and a throaty growl. He heard a loud slap, but the expected wave of pain never came. She had let go of his arm and he felt a rush of warmth as the blood began to flow back through his hand. He squinted open his eyes and moved his arms so that they still protected his face but he could see. To his surprise, she was leaning against the wall, her face buried in her arms. Tavros relaxed his defensive position and put a hand on her shoulder. She pushed him away, but he spotted a flash of appreciation gleam across her eyes. He smiled at her sympathetically, grateful to be treated as more than a punching bag for once in his life. Vriska straightened up, and Tavros looked over his shoulder to see Kanaya approaching, out of breath. She held up a finger, clutching her knees as she gasped for air. When she could breathe normally once again, she let go of her knees, standing up to her full height.

"There you are. Sorry about that. It is nice to see that Tavros is not in need of an ambulance."

She turned to Vriska with a look of both approval and amusement. Vriska frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kanaya opened her mouth as though to explain her crude humor, but Vriska spoke first.

"Whatever. He probably deserves to be seriously injured with all the trouble he's caused me."

Tavros raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"I didn't, uh, cause you any trouble, I, uh, stood up for you... didn't I...?"

He frowned, lowering his gaze to avoid making eye contact with her. Kanaya put a hand on his shoulder, a gesture to show him that she understood.

"I'm sure Tavros didn't mean to cause you any trouble. It was probably just a misunderstanding."

To him, she whispered under her breath, "Just go with it."

He sighed, realizing that all arguments in his defense were futile, so he decided to shut up and continue staring at sandals. They fell silent, and Tavros felt raw tension in the air. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, trying to think of a way to pleasantly break the silence. He was saved when two vaguely familiar girls appeared, stumbling over to them, nearly crashing into Kanaya. He tried to think of where he had seen them before, but couldn't quite remember.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to get so close!"

The one who had spoken was working to steady the other, who was looking kind of woozy. Kanaya brushed herself off.

"It's quite alright."

The newcomer spoke again, scuffling her feet in embarrassment.

"I just came to see how you were doing."

To Tavros's surprise, she was looking straight at him. He looked behind his shoulder to make sure she was talking to him and not someone else.

"Who, me?"

He pointed at himself, eyes wide.

"Yes, you with the mohawk. I saw what happened when you were trying to get an autograph."

She glanced at Vriska in disgust._ Oh, now I remember!_ Tavros thought._ They were standing next to Dave and Dirk when I was over there. _He cleared his throat nervously.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine. Don't, uh, worry about me."

He peered at Vriska nervously. She didn't seem terribly affected by the stranger suddenly coming over and disapproving her actions. In fact, she was icily calm. Tavros shuddered. This only made him more nervous. Kanaya seemed to notice his discomfort and spoke up to lift some of the pressure off of his shoulders.

"It's alright. I was going to ask Vriska if she wanted to talk these issues out over dinner or something, just the two of us."

She shifted her gaze over to Vriska, looking hopeful and nervous as though her reply meant more to her than she was letting on. Tavros cocked his head. What was this? Vriska frowned.

"Is this some twisted way of asking me out?"

Kanaya lowered her eyes.

"I suppose you could say that..."

Vriska spat on the floor, and Kanaya winced openly.

"Kanaya, I think we've established that I'm straight. You want proof?"

She grabbed Tavros by the shirt collar, pulling him closer, and practically shoved his lips into hers. His eyes widened in shock, his heart beginning to pound. His emotions raged out of control, each one conflicting another. Something inside of him enjoyed the feeling of her soft lips against his, but he knew that this was wrong. When she pulled away, he just stood there, gaping and trembling, his eyes still wide and unseeing. His heart was pounding hard enough to beat right out of his chest._ Poor Kanaya... Oh, God, Kanaya! _He switched his focus back to her, dreading the reaction she was bound to have. Kanaya just stood there, a blank expression on her face. A voice sounded from the newcomers, reminding Tavros of their presence.

"Shit, girl, dat -hic- wasn't cool."

When she had finished speaking, she toppled over and vomited all over the floor. Tavros's lip curled in disgust, and he took a step backwards, nearly falling over himself as he realized how light-headed he was. The other girl hung her head in embarrassment, helping her sister up. She looked up at Kanaya with pure sympathy illuminating her pretty magenta eyes.

"Your mascara is running. Here, why don't you come to the bathroom with us and get cleaned up?"

She held out a hand and Kanaya took it, dabbing at her eyes, which were indeed dripping trails of black down her cheeks. Tavros felt an overwhelming pang of guilt stab at his heart. If he hadn't been here then none of this would have happened, and Kanaya wouldn't be upset. He shook his head to clear it. What the hell just happened, and what were these emotions stirring inside of him? When he looked at Vriska, he wanted to see a monster, an evil witch of a friend, but all he saw was a goddess. Confusion swept through him and he had to hold on to the wall to keep his balance. Kanaya had left with the two blonde girls, and Tavros couldn't be sure they would ever come back. Now he was alone with Vriska and despite his strong feelings towards her, the last thing he wanted was to be anywhere near her at the moment, especially not by himself. His eyes stung, threatening to spill out tears at any moment. He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. Vriska swiveled her head around, her own eyes filled with menace. All signs of any affection, no matter how small, had vanished along with the other girls.

"What's wrong, Tavros?" she spat. "You want your mommy, you little baby?"

She grabbed his shirt collar again and lifted him into the air, staring into his eyes with a look of pure cold, of insanity. And above all, rage. Tavros began to shake with terror. His shirt collar was choking him, and his legs were going numb. His energy was spent, and his tolerance had reached its breaking point. His head drooped, and he felt a tear roll down his cheek.

"D-don't make me go through any more..." he choked out. "I can't d-do it... M-make it st-stop..."

By the time he had finished his broken sentence, the acrid stench of pot had invaded his nostrils. A voice sounded behind him.

"You better put him down, sis. It ain't right to rain on somebody's miracle parade like that."

Tavros felt the grip loosen from his neck, his feet touching the ground once again. He gasped for air thankfully.

"Fuck you. Fuck you all."

Vriska's voice was full of venom, matching the crazed look that Tavros had seen in her eyes when she had picked him up. She spun on her heel, storming away. She halted, not bothering to turn, and growled through her teeth.

"Don't think I'm going to give you a ride home, you little shit. I am fucking done with you."

With that, she stomped off, and Tavros could just picture steam pouring out of her ears.

"Well, she's got quite the temper on her. You OK, buddy?"

Tavros looked up to see the face of his rescuer. He was tall with crazy hair and clown makeup, smoke billowing from his painted mouth.

"I-I'm... alright..."

Tavros's voice was cracked, and he nearly choked on the words. His strength was at its end. He broke out in sobs. The stranger patted him on the head, wrapping his arms around him soothingly. Tavros buried his head in the stranger's chest, allowing the tears to flow freely down his face. Another voice sounded from behind them, notifying Tavros of the presence of the clown boy's two companions.

"What'th her deal? She your girlfriend or thomething?"

Tavros looked up to see who was speaking to him. He was tall as well, with red and blue 3-D-glass-like shades.

"I-I don't... kn-know..." he managed to gasp between sobs. "Sh-she d-doesn't... make s-sense a-and I j-just don't... kn-know..."

He sniffed, wiping his eyes, continuing to cling to the original stranger. The third kid, a short, impatient looking boy, loudly voiced his opinion in a sharp tone that made Tavros flinch.

"Why the fuck would you care about someone like that? You should just forget about her and find someone who's actually nice."

The kid folded his arms and stuck his chin in the air. Tavros stared at his feet.

"I c-can't d-do that, she's, uh, my friend..."

The shorter kid opened his mouth, clearly about to make a snide comment, but the clown boy held up a finger to keep him from speaking.

"Shh, let the brother recover."

He lifted Tavros's chin with a finger to make eye contact.

"By the way, what's your name, little man?"

Tavros continued to dry his eyes, working to steady his trembling breaths.

"My name is, uh, Tavros... uh, Nitram... Thanks for being so nice to me..."

He gently pushed the crazy haired pot-head's arms away and took a step backwards.

"No problem, brother. My name is Gamzee Makara, and these motherfuckers are Karkat Vantas and Sollux Captor."

He pointed to them in turn, ignoring Karkat's grunt of irritation. Sollux adjusted his glasses in preparation to speak.

"Now that the introductionth are out of the way, didn't that girl thay thomething about not giving you a ride?"

Tavros's eyes widened. That was right, without Vriska, Tavros had no way of getting home. His parents were out of town for the week, so they couldn't drive him, and being only sixteen, he hadn't gotten his drivers license yet.

"Uh, yeah... She was my ride home..."

His head drooped miserably. This day just kept getting better and better.

"Hey, don't worry buddy. I got a car, I'll drive ya."

Gamzee smiled welcomingly, offering Tavros another pat on the back.

"R-really? You have, uh, a license?"

Gamzee grinned mischievously.

"Yeah, brother. While these lowly bastards are sixteen, I'm motherfucking seventeen, bro. I stayed back in the 8th grade."

He folded his arms, his mellow grin never fading.

"Uh, well, thank you for being, uh, so nice to me..."

Tavros let his body un-tense, taking a deep breath to fight the tremors that still racked his body. He found some nice people, and they seemed willing enough to be his friends or at least be friendly acquaintances to him. He could finally relax.


End file.
